Bonded Labour: Concept, Causes and removal in India

definition of bonded labour Collins English Dictionary

"a system in which a person provides labour in order to pay off debts"

The Removal of Bonded Labor System in India

A man keeping another man in perpetual bondage for his selfish and personal designs is a kind of
man’s cruelty to man which is not confined to a particular country or a particular region but is
found as a global phenomenon for thousands of years, right from the Biblical days to the present
era. The nomenclature changed from period to period and place to place: slave, serf, and bonded
labour.
The origin of bonded labour can be traced from the caste hierarchy and feudal
structure. In earlier times the people were divided into four categories i.e. Brahmin,
kshatriya, vaishya and shudra. Since the lower caste persons did not have enough land to
cultivate, they needed money for fulfillment of social obligations besides satisfaction of
their physiological needs and for this purpose they become indebted to the higher caste
persons. As the debtor has nothing to offer as security, the creditor demanded that he
pledges his person and work for the creditor in lieu of the redemption of debt and interest.
Guarantee of a permanent source of cheap labour on a long term basis was the main
interest of the money lender.
ABOUT BONDED LABOUR?
Bonded labour (or debt bondage) occurs when a person’s labour is demanded in
return for a loan. The person is then tricked into working for little or no pay. The value of
their work is usually greater than the original loan. In many cases the loan is passed down
from parent to child. Female bonded labourers will often be subject to sexual abuse by
their ‘employer’. Around 20 million people are estimated to be in bonded labour
worldwide. Bonded labour is most likely to exist in situations of poverty where an
unexpected expense such as medical costs or a marriage dowry forces an individual to
borrow. Bonded labourers are usually unable to defend their rights or are bound by a
misplaced sense of duty to repay the debt owed by their family.

In India, this type of exploitation of man remained prevalent in the name of beggar and riot for
years. The term ‘bonded labour’ or bandhua mazdoor is of recent origin. Despite the abolition of
the zamindari system, land reforms, Bhoodan movement, enactment of legislation (Bonded
Labour Abolition Act, 1976), establishment of Panchayati Raj, interest shown by Social Action
Groups and spirited individuals from society, lakhs of bonded labourers continue to be exploited
and carry the yoke of neglect, suffering and frustration in abject silence.

In fact, the system of bonded labour, as prevalent in Indian society, is a relic of feudal hierarchical
society. A considerable interest has come to be shown in bonded labour during the past two
decades by social workers, social scientists and the government because it is considered in-
compatible with our social ideal of egalitarianism with our commitment to human rights. The
magnitude of bonded labour is just baffling as lakhs of adult males and females as well as
children are condemned to suffering under its yoke.

The Concept:

We have to understand the terms ‘bonded labour system’ and ‘bonded labour’. The ‘bonded
labour system’ refers to “the relationship between a creditor and a debtor who obtains loan owing
to economic compulsions confronting his day-to-day life, and agrees to abide by the terms
dictated by the creditor”.

The important term of agreement is that the debtor agrees to mortgage his services or services of
any or all the members of his family for a specified or unspecified period. The relationship built on
the agreement is on such unequal terms that while for every labour or service, there must be
some fair remuneration equivalent to the price of labour in the market, under the bonded labour
system the service is rendered for the debt or in lieu of the interest accruing to the debt. The
debtor either works without receiving any remuneration or if at all there is any remuneration, it is
much less than the minimum wage (notified under the Minimum Wages Act) or the prevailing rate
of market wage.

The 1976 Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act defines ‘bonded labour system’ as “the system of forced
labour under which a debtor enters into an agreement with the creditor that he would render
service to him either by himself or through any member of his family or any person dependent on
him, for a specified or unspecified period, either without wages or for nominal wages, in
consideration of loan or any other economic consideration obtained by him or any of his
ascendants, or in pursuance of any social obligation, or in pursuance of any obligation devolving
on him by succession”.

The agreement has other consequences too, such as, forfeiting the debtor the freedom of
employment, denial of freedom of movement in any part of the country, and denial of the right to
sell at market value any of his property or product of his labour.

The term ‘bonded labour’ has been defined by the National Commission on Labour as “labour
which remains in bondage for a specific period for the debt incurred”. The Commissioner for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes explained the term bonded labour in its 24th report as
“persons who are forced to work for the creditors for the loan incurred either without wage or on
nominal wage”.

The ‘bonded labour’ is different from ‘contract labour’ employed in industries, mines, plantations
and docks, etc. Contract labour includes workers who are not directly recruited by the
establishment, whose names do not appear on the pay-roll and who are not paid wages directly
by the employer. In theory, contract labourers in India are covered by the Factory Act, 1948, the
Mines Act, 1952, the Plantations Labour Act, 1951 and the Dock Workers Act, 1948 so as to give
them benefits as are admissible to labour directly employed.

However, the advantages of employing both bonded labour and contract labour are the same:

(i) Labour is engaged at a lower cost,

(ii) The employers have not to extend fringe benefits to the workers, and

(iii) The employers are not under any obligation of providing welfare and security measures to the
workers as stipulated in various Acts. The system of contract labour in our country was abolished
in September 1970 by an Act called ‘Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act’.

The two basic features of bonded labour are indebtedness and forced labour. Forced labour can
hereditarily descend from father to son or be passed on for generations together. During the
period of bondage, the debtor cannot seek employment with any other person.

In economic terms, this means that he cannot ‘sell his labour in the market at market value’. The
bonded labour system is mostly found among agricultural labourers in villages, though today it
has extended to workers working in stone quarries, brick kilns, bidi factories, glass factories and
in detergent carpet, gem stones and many other factories.

Bonded labourers are known by different names in different parts of India. For example, in
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka they are known as ‘Jeethams’, in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
as ‘Halts’, in Bastar district in Madhya Pradesh as ‘Kabadis’, in Hyderabad as ‘Bhagela’, in
Rajasthan as ‘Saggris’, in Bihar as ‘Kamias’ or ‘Kamiantis’, in Orissa as ‘Gothees’, in Tamil Nadu
as ‘Pandiyals’, in Kerala as ‘Adiyas’, ‘Paniyas’, and ‘Kattunaikens’, and in Uttar Pradesh as
‘Koltas’.

Misery and Suffering in Bondage:

One former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Justice P.N. Bhagwati) described bonded
labourers as ‘non-beings, exiles of civilisation living a life -worse than that of animals’, for the
animals are at least free to roam about as they like and they can plunder or garb food whenever
they are hungry, but these outcastes of society are held in bondage and robbed of their freedom
even.

They are consigned to an existence where they have to live either in hovels or under the open
sky and be satisfied with what- ever unwholesome food they can manage to get, inadequate
though it may be to fill their hungry stomachs. Not having any choice, they are driven by poverty
and hunger into a life of bondage, a dark bottomless pit from which, in a cruel exploitative society,
they cannot hope to be rescued.

It is estimated that there are about 32 lakh bonded labourers in India. Of these, 98 per cent are
said to be bonded due to indebtedness and 2 per cent due to customary social obligations. The
highest number is believed to exist in three states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil
Nadu, followed by Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

According to the figures released in May 1997 on the basis of a state government-sponsored
survey (conducted as per the Supreme Court direction), Tamil Nadu has the maximum number of
24,000 bonded labourers, in the country, engaged in 30 different occupations (The Hindustan
Times, May 13, 1997).

It has been pointed out that the majority of bonded labourers works as agricultural labour in
villages and belong to the Dutcaste or tribal communities. Of the total labour force in the rural
areas, about 33 per cent are engaged in non-agricultural activities, 42 per cent work as
cultivators, and 25 per cent as agricultural labourers. Of those who work as agricultural labourers,
48 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes and 33 per cent to Scheduled Tribes.

Being unskilled and un-organised, agricultural labourers have little for their livelihood other than
personal labour. Bonded agricultural labourers occupy the lowest rung of the rural ladder. Social
and economic stratification in a village is linked with land and caste which in turn govern
economic and social status of ‘he people. Bonded labourers thus live in pitiable and miserable
conditions.

They are socially exploited because though in theory they are assured food, clothes, free
tobacco, etc., in practice they get the food that is left over, and clothes that are discarded by
family members. They are made to work for 12 to 14 hours a day and are forced to live with cows
and buffaloes in shed. If they fall ill, they may be procured some medicines from the local Hakim
depending upon the sweet will of the employer.

The total number of bonded labourers identified and freed in India by March 1989 was 2.42 lakhs,
of whom 2.18 lakhs (i.e., 90%) were said to be rehabilitated also. Thus, hardly 8 per cent of total
bonded workers in India have been identified so far, indicating lack of interest of state
governments in solving the problem of bonded labour. At least four reports submitted to the
Government of India between 1979 and 1983 pointed out how the disgusting and squeamish
practice of bonded labour existed in India and continued to disfigure the social and economic life
of the country.
These reports were:
done up to self financing 20th march
(a) Report of the Centre for Rural Development to the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, on
‘Rehabilitation of Bonded Labour in Monghyr District, Bihar’,

(b) Report of the Public Policy and Planning Division of the Indian Institute of Public
Administration to the Ministry of Labour, Government of India, on ‘Evaluation Study of Bonded
Labour Rehabilitation Scheme in Tehri Garhwal, Uttar Pradesh’,

(c) Report of Laxmi Dhar Misra, Director General (Labour Welfare) of Government of India based
on the ‘Spot Studies Regarding Identification, Release and Rehabilitation of Freed Bonded
Labourers in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa, Bihar,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala’, and

(d) Report of the National Seminar on ‘Identification and Rehabilitation of Bonded Labour’ held
from February 7-9, 1983.

Of the 2.42 lakh bonded labourers identified and released up to March 1989, 26 per cent were got
released in Karnataka, 20 per cent in Orissa, 16 per cent in Tamil Nadu, 14 per cent in Andhra
Pradesh, 11 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 5 per cent in Bihar, 4 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 3 per
cent in Rajasthan, 0.5 per cent in Maharashtra, 0.3 per cent in Kerala and 0.2 per cent in
Haryana.

Causes of Bonded Labour:

Though the main causes of origin, growth and perpetuation of bonded labour system are
economic, the social and religious factors to support the custom. The economic causes include:
extreme poverty of people, inability to find work for livelihood, inadequate size of the landholdings
to support family, lack of alternative small-scale loans for the rural and urban poor, natural
calamities like drought, floods etc., destruction of men ‘ animals, absence of rains, drying away of
wells, meagre income from forest produce, and inflation and constant rising prices.

The social factors include:

High expenses on occasions like marriage, death, feast, birth of a child, etc., leading to heavy
debts, caste-based discrimination, lack of concrete social welfare schemes to safeguard against
hunger and illness, non- compulsory and unequal educational system, and indifference and
corruption among government officials.

Sometimes, exploitation by some persons in a village also compels people to migrate to some
other place and seek not only employment on the employer’s conditions but also get protection
from influential persons. Religious arguments are used to convince the people of low castes that
religion enjoins upon them to serve people of high castes. Illiteracy, ignorance, immaturity and
lack of skill and professional training sustain such beliefs. Broadly speaking, it may be maintained
that bondage originates mainly from economic and social pressures.

The phenomenon of bonded labour is a “vicious circle” where each factor is responsible for
further subjugation and apathy of the bonded labourers. The first part of the chain forming the
vicious circle is the survival capabilities of this system. It is a relic of colonial and feudal system,
which is still continuing. This relic is deeply rooted in the social customs and traditions, treating it
as a normal practice. This results in the creation of a “hierarchical pattern” of society forming
unequal classes in terms of superiority and inferiority. The so-called higher classes then commit
all sorts of atrocities upon the considered lower classes. The system of bonded labour is an
outcome of certain categories of indebtedness which have been prevailing for a long time
involving certain economically, exploited, helpless and weaker sections of the society. The
bonded or forced labour system was known by different names in different parts of the country
like Begar, Sagri or Hali, Jeetham etc. The problem of bonded labour was closely linked to the
broader socioeconomic problems of surplus labour, unemployment/under-employment,
inequitable distribution of land and assets, low wages, distress migration, social customs etc.

The issue of ‘bonded labour’ came to the forefront as a national issue, when it was included in
the old 20-Point Programme in 1975. It was the 5th point of the Programme which stated that
“bonded labour, wherever it exists will be declared illegal.” To implement this, Bonded Labour
System (Abolition) Ordinance was promulgated. Which was later on replaced by the Bonded
Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. It freed unilaterally all the bonded labourers from bondage
with simultaneous liquidation of their debts.

Concepts of bonded labor system

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) [Article 2(i)] —The term forced or compulsory labour
shall mean all work or service, which is exacted, from any person under the menace of any
penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights —On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of the
United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 4
says: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and slave trade shall be prohibited in
all their forms.”

UN Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery (1956) — Under this Convention debt
bondage is defined as “the status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal
service or those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services
as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature
of those services are not respectively limited and defined”.

As per I.L.O. Report on Stopping Forced Labour (2001) — The term (Bonded Labour) refers to a
worker who rendered service under condition of bondage arising from economic consideration,
notably indebtedness through a loan or an advance. Where debt is the root cause of bondage,
the implication is that the worker (or dependents or heirs) is tied to a particular creditor for a
specified or unspecified period until the loan is repaid.

The ordinance was enacted in October 1975 which was later replaced by the Act passed in
February 1976, called the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act. All the state laws became
inoperative after the enactment of the Act by the union government in 1976.

The Act implies:

(i) Identification of bonded labourers;

(ii) Release of bonded labourers;

(iii) Action against offenders, i.e., creditors who had forced agreement upon the debtors;

(iv) Holding of regular meetings of vigilance committees at the district and tehsil level;
(v) Maintenance of the prescribed registers; and

(vi) Conferring of judicial powers to executive magistrates.

The Act also provides for the rehabilitation of bonded labourers who are freed from their creditors.
The 1976 Act was amended in 1985 in which it was clarified that the contract workers and inter-
state migrant workers, if they fulfill the conditions laid down in the Bonded Labour System
(Abolition) Act, will be considered as bonded labour.

The main problem that is faced in the implementation of the 1976 Act is the identification of
bonded labourers. Neither the administrators at the district and tehsil levels admit the existence of
bonded labourers in their areas nor do the creditors accept that any bonded workers are serving
them, nor are the workers themselves willing to give statements that they are being forced to
work as bonded labourers since long. It is the social workers attached to non-political social
action groups and voluntary organisations who identify the bonded labourers.

The other handicap which aggravates the problem is the economic rehabilitation of the released
labourers. The economic rehabilitation includes: finding jobs for them, getting them minimum
wages, giving them training in arts and crafts, allotment of agricultural land, helping them in
developing the allotted land, helping them in the processing of forest produce, educating them
and their children, arranging for their medical care, etc.

All these are Herculean tasks. Besides ensuring economic rehabilitation, the state governments
are also expected to arrange for their psychological rehabilitation and integration of various
schemes of central and state governments. In chalking out plans and strategies of rehabilitation,
the freed labourers are to be given the choice between various alternatives (Sharma, 1990:54).

As per the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976:

Ø “bonded labour” means any labour or service rendered under the bonded labour system-
Section 2 (e).
Ø “bonded labourer” means a labourer who incurs, or has, or is presumed to have incurred a
bonded debt-Section 2(f).
Ø “bonded labour system” means the system of forced, or partly forced, labour under which a
debtor enters, or has, or is presumed to have, entered, into an agreement with the creditor to the
effect that he would-
i. render, by himself or through any member of his family, or any person dependent on him,
labour or service to the creditor, or for the benefit of the creditor, for a specified period or for any
unspecified period, either without wages or for nominal wages, or
ii. for the freedom of employment or other means of livelihood for a specified period or for an
unspecified period, or
iii. forfeit the right to move freely throughout the territory of India, or
iv. forfeit the right to appropriate or sell at market value any of his property or product of his
labour or the labour of a member of his family or any person dependent on him;

and includes the system of forced, or partly forced, labour under which a surety for a debtor
enters, or has, or is presumed to have, entered, into an agreement with the creditor to the effect
that in the event of the failure of the debtor to repay the debt, he would render the bonded labour
on behalf of the debtor-Section 2(g)

Through its various judgments, Supreme Court has given a very broad, liberal and expansive
interpretation of the definition of the bonded labour. According to the interpretation given by the
apex court, where a person provided labour or service to another for remuneration less than the
minimum wage, the labour or service falls clearly within the scope and ambit of the words forced
labour under the constitution.

Constitutional And Legal Provisions

The Constitution of India:
The Constitution of India guarantees all its citizens-justice, social, economic and political;
freedom or thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; equity of status and opportunity and
fraternity, dignity of individual and unity of the Nation.

Under Article 23. Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour - Traffic in human
beings and begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of
this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. Nothing in this article shall
prevent the State from imposing compulsory service for public purposes, and in imposing such
service the State shall not make any discrimination on grounds only on religion, race, caste or
class or any of them.

Under Article 42. Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief - The
State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity
relief.

Under Article 43. Living wage, etc. for workers - The State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable
legislation or economic organization or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or
otherwise, work and living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full
enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities and, in particular the State shall
endeavour to promote cottage industrial on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas.

Indian Penal Code:

Under Section 374. Unlawful compulsory labour - Whoever unlawfully compels any person to
labour against the will of that person, shall be punishable with imprisonment of either description
for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933:

Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933 says that unless there is something repugnant in the
subject or context – “an agreement of pledging the labour of child” means an agreement written
or oral, express or implied, whereby the parent or guardian of a child, in return for any payment or
benefit received or to be received by him, undertakes to cause or allow the services of the child to
be utilized in any employment. Provided that any agreement made without detriment to a child,
and not made in consideration of any benefit other than reasonable wages to be paid for the
child’s services and terminable at not more than a weeks notice, is not an agreement within the
meaning of this definition. It also says that “Whoever, being the parent or guardian of a child,
makes an agreement to pledge the labour of that child, shall be punished with fine which may
extend up to fifty rupees”.

Commentary on The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

Ø On commencement of this Act the bonded labour system shall stand abolished and every
bonded labourer shall stand freed and discharged free from any obligation to render bonded
labour.
Ø Any custom, agreement or other instrument by virtue of which a person is required to render
any service as bonded labour shall be void.
Ø Liability to repay bonded debt shall be deemed to have been extinguished.
Ø Property of the bonded labourer to be freed from mortgage etc.
Ø Freed bonded labourers shall not be evicted from homesteads or other residential premises
which he was occupying as part of consideration for the bonded labour.
Ø District Magistrates have been entrusted with certain duties and responsibilities for
implementing the provision of this Act.
Ø Vigilance committees are required to be constituted at district and sub-divisional levels.
Ø Offences for contravention of provisions of the Act are punishable with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to three years and also with fines which may extend to two thousand rupees.
Ø Powers of Judicial Magistrates are required to be conferred on Executive Magistrates for trial
of offences under this Act. Offences under this Act may be tried summarily.
Ø Every offence under this Act shall be cognizable and bailable.

International Law on Bonded Labour Applicable in India

In addition to domestic laws, India is a party to numerous international human rights conventions
and is thus legally bound by them. An extensive review is presented by the Human Rights Watch
report on bonded labor in India. These laws include;

Convention on the Suppression of Slave Trade and Slavery, 1926

This convention requires signatories to “prevent and suppress the slave trade” and “to bring
about, progressively and as soon as possible, the complete abolition of slavery in all its forms.” It
also obligates parties to “take all necessary measures to prevent compulsory or forced labor from
developing into conditions analogous to slavery”. Convention on the Suppression of Slave Trade
and Slavery, signed at Geneva, September 25, 1926; Protocol Amended the Slavery Convention,
signed at Geneva, September 25, 1926, with annex, done at, New York, December 7, 1953,
entered into force, December 7, 1953. A slave is someone “over whom any or all of the powers
attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.” Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of
Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, done at Geneva,
September 7, 1956; entered into force, April 30, 1957 (Supplementary Convention).

Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and
Practices Similar to Slavery, 1956
The supplementary convention on slavery offers further clarification of prohibited practices and
refers specifically to debt bondage and child servitude as institutions similar to slavery.

Forced Labour Convention, 1930

The International Labour Organisation (I.L.O.) Forced Labour Convention requires signatories to
“suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms in the shortest period possible”.
[1] In 1957, the I.L.O. explicitly incorporated debt bondage and serfdom within its definition of
forced labor.[2] India, however, chose not to sign this convention.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (I.C.C.P.R.), 1966

Article 8 of the I.C.C.P.R. prohibits slavery and the slave trade in all their forms, servitude, and
forced or compulsory labor. Article 24 entitles all children to “the right to such measures of
protection as are required by his status as a minor, on the part of his family, society and the
State.”[3]

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (I.C.E.S.C.R.), 1966

Article 7 of the I.C.E.S.C.R. provides that States Parties shall “recognize the right of everyone to
the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work.” Article 10 requires Parties to protect
“children and young persons... from economic and social exploitation”.

Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989

Article 32: “States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic
exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or... be harmful to the
child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.”[4] States are directed to
implement and ensure these protections.
Article 35: “States Parties shall take all appropriate . . . measures to prevent the abduction, the
sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form.” A significant portion of the bonded
child laborers of India are trafficked from one state to another, and some are sold outright.[5]
Article 36: “States Parties shall protect the child against all other forms of exploitation prejudicial
to any aspects of the child’s welfare”.[6]
International Labour Organization (I.L.O.) Conventions
There are two I.L.O. Conventions, Convention No. 29 concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour
(1930) and Convention No. 105 concerning Abolition of Forced Labour (1957).
Government of India has ratified both the Conventions.

Convention No. 29 cast an obligation on the Members of the I.L.O. which ratifies this Convention
to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its form within the
shortest possible period. For the purpose of this Convention, the term “forced or compulsory
labour” means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any
penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.

Under Convention 105, each Member of the I.L.O. which ratifies this Convention is required to
suppress and not to make use of any form of forced or compulsory labour-
# as a means of political coercion or education or as a punishment for holding or expressing
political views or views ideologically opposed to the established political, social or economic
system;
# as a method mobilizing and using labour for purposes of economic development;
# as a means of labour discipline;
# as punishment for having participated in strike;
# as a means of racial, social, national or religious discrimination.

PROSECUTIONS AND CONVICTIONS

According to the Act, bonded labour was abolished on October 25, 1975, and the bonded
labourers stood freed and discharged from any bonded labour obligations. The Act also
extinguished any obligation to repay any bonded debt. The Act further provides that whoever
compels any person to bonded labour should be punished with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to three years and is also liable to pay a fine of Rs. 2000.
District, State, and National Responsibility for Bonded Labor

States are responsible for enforcing the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, and do so
through their district magistrates, in some states called district collectors or deputy
commissioners, who are directed to form bonded labor "vigilance committees." The central
government is responsible for ensuring that states enforce the act and that the vigilance
committees are formed.[7] The central government funds state surveys of bonded labor,
evaluations of the bonded labor law's implementation, and public awareness campaigns.[8] It also
provides half of the funds for rehabilitation assistance, which is currently set at a total of Rs.
20,000 (U.S.$417) per bonded laborer, slightly less than the annual per capita income.[9]

District magistrates are appointed civil servants and are the top authorities at the district level.
They oversee government administration, including the administration of justice, and some fifty to
sixty distinct departments.[10] Their wide array of duties includes identifying cases of bonded
labor in their districts, freeing the laborers, initiating prosecutions, making sure available credit
sources are in place so that freed laborers will not be forced into bondage again, and constituting
and participating in the vigilance committees.[11] The vigilance committees are charged with
advising the district magistrate to ensure that the bonded labor law is properly implemented;
providing for the economic and social rehabilitation of freed bonded laborers; coordinating the
functions of rural banks and cooperative societies to help ensure freed bonded laborers have
access